A. Atlanta Braves
. The Braves were supposed to be bad. But they have already been really bad for extended stretches in the early stages of the
season. Atlanta has losing streaks of five games (April 6-11) and six games
(current). Fortunately for the 6-12 Braves, they got to a play a four-game
series against the Padres-whom they swept.

B. Bumgarner, Madison
. It was only a matter of time before we heard some kind of news like this
involving Bumgarner: he is out for 6-8 weeks after getting injured in a
dirt-bike accident. The left-hander sustained a shoulder sprain as a result
of the incident, which occurred during the Giants' off day last week in
Colorado.

C. Chicago Blackhawks
. No one would have been too surprised to see a sweep in the
Blackhawks-Predators first-round playoff series. But everyone would have
thought it to be in the Blackhawks' favor. Instead, Nashville shut out
Chicago in the first two games and then went back home to finish things off
in style. The 'Hawks were outscored 13-3 over the four contests.
The Preds are -105 road underdogs
in Game 1 against St. Louis on Wednesday, according to Bovada Sportsbook.

D. Data
. The post-Game 2 comments made by Grizzlies' head coach David Fizdale will
go down in history-and will do so to an even greater extent if his team
eventually upsets the Spurs in the opening round. "Take that for data" is
how Fizdale concluded his rant after Kawhi Leonard attempted more
free-throws (19) than the entire Memphis team (15). But how's this for
data? The Grizz are going back to San Antonio 2-2 after taking Game 3
105-94 and Game 4 110-108 in overtime.
Memphis is a +10 underdog
on Tuesday, per BetOnline Sportsbook.

E. Eli Manning
. All NFL talk in late April should surround the draft, and most of it
is-except for Manning's ongoing memorabilia scandal. The Giants'
quarterback is being sued for fraud by a memorabilia dealer that claims he
tried to pass off equipment as game-used. A good question is why would
anyone want anything that was used in a recent Giants game?

F. FC Barcelona
. The latest installment of El Clasico was just that-a classic. This past
Sunday's wild, back-and-forth affair at the Santiago Bernabeu saw visiting
Barcelona edge Real Madrid 3-2. Lionel Messi scored twice, tying the match
at 1-1 and ultimately winning it on the final play two minutes into
stoppage time. The two clubs are now tied atop the La Liga table with 75
points.

G. Griffin, Blake
. Death, taxes, and the Los Angeles Clippers dealing with injury issues in
the playoffs. Griffin, who was sidelined last season starting with Game 4
of a first-round series against Portland, is done after sustaining an
injury to the plantar plate of his right big toe during his team's Game 3
win over Utah. L.A. lost Game 4 on Sunday 105-98, so the series is tied
2-2. 5Dimes Sportsbook
has the Clippers as -3 home favorites on Tuesday.

H. Hazard, Eden
. Chelsea finds itself with healthy lead in the English Premier League and
it is now through to the FA Cup final after beating Tottenham Hotspur 4-2
last weekend. Hazard came off the bench to score a tiebreaking goal in the
75th minute.

I. Impossible cover
. Both the Celtics and the Bulls can agree that Isaiah Thomas is "an
impossible cover." But Chicago head coach Fred Hoiberg thinks it's because
Thomas is being allowed to discontinue his dribble on every possession.
Thomas probably just thinks it's because he's amazing. Whatever the case,
Boston's 5-foot-9 point guard has been amazing, and the series is tied 2-2
after the Bulls once led it 2-0.The Celtics are -475 at
GT Bets
to advance.

J. James, LeBron
. The Pacers probably would have won at least one game against just about
any other team. After all, they lost four by a combined 16 points. But
LeBron said no, engineering a sweep by averaging 32.8 points, 9.8 rebounds,
9.0 assists, 3.0 steals, and 2.0 blocks during the four-game series. He
produced a triple-double in Game 3 and helped win the clincher 106-102 this
past Sunday with 33 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, four steals, and two
blocks.

K. Karlsson, Erik
. Karlsson (17 goals, 54 assists during the regular season) had six assists
in Ottawa's six-game series win over Boston. Oh, and he's been playing with
hairline fractures in his heel. Not bad! BookMaker has the
Senators at +675 to win the Eastern Conference.

L. LaVar Ball
. Mr. Ball isn't going away anytime soon, is he? Nike executive George
Raveling recently called him "the worst thing to happen to basketball in
the last hundred years." Ball ate that attention up, firing back that his
family's brand will soon be Nike's main competition.

M. Mike Gundy
. Mike Gundy is a man! He's 40! (Well, now he's almost 50). That means he
can do what he wants, and what he wanted to do was make 11-2 Alamo Bowl
rings for his Oklahoma State football team. The Cowboys officially went
10-3, but their "loss" to Central Michigan was all due to a horrific,
incorrect call.

O. Overtime
. Five of six games in the Capitals-Maple Leafs series went to overtime.
That's right; five out of six. And if you thought that Caps series was
good, now they have Sidney Crosby and defending champion Pittsburgh.
Popcorn!

P. Pregnant
. Serena Williams announced her pregnancy via Snapchat last week, posting a
photo of her baby bump with the caption "20 weeks." That means she won the
Australian Open while pregnant. And she's Serena, so she could probably win
the French Open 26 weeks pregnant and Wimbledon 29 weeks pregnant.

Q. Quan Bray
. Bray re-signed with the Colts on Monday. The former Auburn standout
averaged 25.7 yards on kickoff returns and 8.3 yards on punt returns last
season.

R. Rajon Rondo
. As recently as January, the Bulls could not live with Rondo. Now they
can't live without him. The veteran point guard had 12 points, eight
rebounds, and six assists in Game 1 against Boston and 11 points, nine
rebounds, 14 assists, and five steals in Game 2-both Chicago wins. But he
missed the next two contests at home because of a wrist injury and the
Bulls promptly lost two in a row.

S. Sharapova, Maria
. Sharapova returns from her meldonium-related ban this week. She will play
her first match since the 2016 Australian Open on Wednesday in Stuttgart.
Fellow female players are not happy, but male tennis fans are very happy.

T. Ten
. Rafael Nadal became the first man in Open Era history to win the same
tournament 10 times when he triumphed last week in Monte-Carlo. The King of
Clay is back on his favorite surface and already sending a pre-French Open
message. If he's smart, his message says: stay away, Roger Federer! Nadal
is a +165 favorite at
Bovada Sportsbook
to win the French Open.

U. UGA recruit
. Offensive lineman
D'Antne Demery, who signed with Georgia this spring, was arrested last
Saturday night around 9:30 p.m. and charged with battery following an
alleged incident involving his girlfriend at a Waffle House in
Brunswick, Ga. He should know that nothing good happens at a Waffle
House before midnight!

V. Valero Texas Open
. Until this past Sunday, Kevin Chappell had as many wins in his career as
Tiger Woods has had since Aug. 4, 2013. For those wondering, that isn't
good. But Chappell lifted a trophy for the first time by triumphing in San
Antonio, where he birdied the par-5 18th to beat Brooks Koepka
by one stroke.

W. Warren Sapp
. Sapp on potential No. 1 overall pick Myles Garrett: "I watch the tape and
he disappears. I watch the tape, and he absolutely disappears…. I see a
lazy kid that makes four plays a game. This is the No. 1 guy? No, no, no.
This ain't even close." Tell us how you really feel, Warren!
BetOnline Sportsbook
has Garrett at -1000 to go No. 1.

X. Xander Bogaerts
. It has been an interesting start to the season for Boston's shortstop,
who missed much of the first week after being placed on bereavement leave
and is now dealing with a left-thumb injury. Still, Bogaerts is batting
.333 and went 2-for-4 this past Sunday against Baltimore.

Y. Yoenis Cespedes
. Cespedes has not played since last Thursday because a hamstring injury
and he may be placed on the disabled list if he is unable return for
tonight's game against Atlanta. The Mets' outfielder is batting .263 with
six homers this season.
New York (Gsellman) is a -135 home favorite
over the Braves (Teheran), as indicated by MyBookie.ag.

Z. Zlatan Ibrahimovic
. Ibrahimovic, 35, recently suffered a torn ACL. But the Manchester United
striker appears to be from the Tiger school of thinking. "Giving up is not
an option," he assured.